This pumpkin steel cut oat bake is whole grain, filled with fiber, and lower in sugar…not to mention delicious pumpkin pie flavor! The perfect recipe for a weekend brunch or to meal-prep and reheat for easy breakfasts during the week!
Are you over pumpkin yet? I hope not, because I have just one last pumpkin recipe that I wanted to share with you this year! So confession. While everyone has moved on to eggnog and gingerbread, I’m honestly just NOT a fan of either of these flavors. However, I can most definitely get on board with chocolate peppermint (peppermint mocha, anyone?) so you can expect at least one or two recipes featuring peppermint.
Ingredients
Steel Cut Oats
Back to this pumpkin steel cut oat bake. I’ve made baked oatmeal with rolled oats before, this strawberry chocolate chip baked oatmeal and peach baked oatmeal are both delicious. However, I’ve never tried a baked oatmeal recipe using steel cut oats. As with many recipes, this one was inspired by the ingredients in my pantry that needed to be used up. I had a container of steel cut oats that was a little forgotten in the back of my pantry, and thought I might as well try a baked oatmeal recipe with them! I MUCH prefer oats in baked form, breakfast cookies, or in granola bar form versus plain cooked oatmeal!
Oat Bran
Along with steel cut oats, I had a little bit of oat bran left that needed to be used up. However, you can definitely try substituting quick oats in place of the oat bran and I think that would work well!
Pumpkin Spice Flavors
Unsurprisingly, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice are key ingredients to the pumpkin flavor of this baked oatmeal! Along with pumpkin pie spice, I added cinnamon and maple syrup to add flavor and sweetness. A dash of vanilla and salt round everything out.
Vegan Friendly
As written, this recipe is vegan as I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk and a flax egg to bind everything together. However, you can definitely use any milk of your choice, and while I haven’t personally tried it yet, I’m sure substituting one egg would work in place of the ground flax and water!
Pumpkin Protein Frosting
I always find it a bit annoying to open a can of pumpkin to use in a recipe and then have a random amount left over. So, I created this super simple, two main ingredient pumpkin protein frosting that is SO delicious on top of the pumpkin steel cut oat bake!
I hope you love this recipe! It’s super simple, and I loved how fun it was to bake in a pie pan versus a plain 8×8 square pan. It reminds me more of pumpkin pie this way! BUT you can use an 8×8 pan if you wish.
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- ½ cup oat bran (or quick oats)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup 100% pure pumpkin puree
- 1 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 2 tablespoons ground flax + 2 tablespoons water
- 2-4 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I used 2, but use 4 tablespoons if you want it sweeter)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Optional toppings suggestions: pepitas (pumpkin seeds), mini chocolate chips, dried cranberries, etc.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice “Frosting:”
- ¾ cup 100% pure pumpkin puree (should be what’s leftover from can)
- 1 serving/scoop sweetened protein powder*
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray a baking pan (I used a pie pan, but you could also use an 8x8 pan) with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together ground flax and water and set aside to "gel."
- In medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients until combined. Add in pumpkin puree, milk, flax egg, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes, or until cooked through. Mine took 40 minutes, but time will vary based on your oven.
- I used a 9-inch round glass pie pan to cut into fun slice shapes, but you could also use a 8x8 baking pan. Serves 8.
- Store leftovers in refrigerator for a few days, or can freeze for later too.
- For the frosting:simply mix all frosting ingredients together in bowl and serve with pumpkin steel cut oat bake!
This would be great for meal prep! Do you think you could change it up by subbing the pumpkin with sweet potato puree, bn squash puree, or applesauce?
Yes I love having this on hand for leftovers for breakfast! It also freezes beautifully. I haven’t tried those substitutions, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t work! 🙂 I’m sure banana would work well too!